Family
by Red Blaze 16
Summary: She's a member of GI Joe and he's an arms dealer for Cobra. But, family is family. A series of one shots. Please R&R.
1. Family

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is slightly AU – in RAH: Skeletons in the Closet, it's revealed that Destro and Lady Jaye are related, though it's never explained how they are related.**_

Disclaimer: I don't own GI Joe...don't sue. Thanks!

Family

By Red Blaze 16

There was a time when weapons were all that James McCullen thought about. Guns. Bombs. Tanks. Planes. Buying. Selling. Making money. The McCullens had been selling weapons for hundreds of years and sometimes they even sold to both sides. War meant profit to the McCullen family. James continued that family tradition.

Outside of his home, he was known as Destro. Arms dealer to Cobra, the world's most dangerous terrorist organization in the world. One of the most cunning and insidious men in the world, Destro was to be feared. But that was outside his family home.

Inside his family home in Scotland, James had to put aside his Destro persona, because it was not welcomed by the woman who was sharing breakfast with him. Before he knew about their relationship, he was Destro all the time. After he found out, he made steps to get to know her and just be James McCullen. In the beginning, it was more than awkward. In fact, once he knew who she was, he had had to trick her into returning to Scotland, so they could get to know each other. That meeting did not go well.

While they had gotten to the point of sharing a meal together, they still couldn't sit next to each other. James would sit at one end of the table, while she would sit at the other. They rarely talked with each other. If someone had told him five years ago he would be enjoying a meal in his home with her, he would have laughed.

Wearing a simple, light green, button down blouse over a pair of charcoal-gray slacks, Alison Hart-Burnett was still not totally comfortable with sharing a meal with James. The peace between them was tentative. She knew, like he did, that they didn't discuss the outside world when they were together. In fact, it was a house rule.

Like James, outside of the home, she had another identity. Alison was known by many as Lady Jaye, a member of GI Joe and sworn enemy of Cobra. But inside their family's home, she was Alison Hart-Burnette. Likewise, the masked man sitting at the other end of the table was James McCullen, not Destro. It was easier for him to forget. All she had to do was switch clothes and he could forget she was a Joe. But even if he was wearing a casual black suit, like he wore this morning, it was too easy for her to think about him being Destro, since he never took the silver mask off. But still, they tried.

To put it mildly, it came as a shock to both of them to find out they were related. At first, he was angry. His lover, the Baroness, told him while he stood outside his ruined family home. A ruined home he blamed on Alison. To be related to a Joe? The Joe that had destroyed his family's home? It was beyond ridiculous. While he knew that the Baroness had a strange sense of humor and he had wondered if she was teasing him, James had to find out for himself. So, he researched Alison. Who was her family? Where did she come from? And that's when things changed for James and Alison.

James has spent most of his adult life alone at his family's home. But he hadn't always been alone. James had had a younger brother, Ian. As children, the boys were inseparable. James was protective of his younger brother, while Ian looked up to James. Their childhood had been happy and they were completely unaware of the family's dark history. It wasn't until the boys grew up and their parents died that things changed. Ian was horrified that the family's money came from selling weapons, while James simply accepted it. James knew his brother didn't support the family being arms dealers and, less than a year after losing their parents, Ian had fled Scotland.

While James had been upset with his younger brother for deserting him, he forgave Ian and wanted to patch things up. After all, family was family. Trying to find his brother, he discovered that Ian had died not long after leaving Scotland and the chance of reuniting was gone. With the last of his immediate family dead, James had thrown himself into the life of Destro, rarely returning the the family home and rarely going by any other name besides Destro. James McCullen had been mostly forgotten.

But when he researched Alison, he found out his younger brother hadn't died. Ian had faked his death and had moved to America. He changed his name and married to a high society woman in Massachusetts. Together they had had a daughter, Alison Hart-Burnett, the woman sitting at the end of the table. The woman, who was his sworn enemy, was the daughter of his only brother. James was not only related to a Joe, she was his niece.

"I'm leaving Scotland today," says Alison, not realizing her uncle was lost in past memories. "And returning to...America." Though, they both know what she meant was, returning to GI Joe Headquarters.

Glancing down the table, James nods his head. The first and last days of their visits were the most uncomfortable. Usually, they were able to forget their other lives and focus on getting to know each other as family. Alison didn't remember her father well, since he had died when she was a young child, so these visits gave her a window into what her father had been like. And, though Alison looked mostly like her mother, there were times when James could see his brother in the woman.

"What time is your flight?" he asks.

"In a few hours," she replies. "After breakfast, I will finish packing."

Silence descends on the room again. Alison isn't sure what else to say and neither is James. Knowing that the young woman is about to leave and unsure when they would have a chance to visit again, James realizes he has to make a decision.

Weeks earlier, Destro had overheard something in Cobra Headquarters that involved his niece. If it had been any other Joe, Destro would have ignored what he heard. Cobra and GI Joe were, after all, enemies. But it wasn't any other Joe. It was Ian's daughter. And even though the house rule said GI Joe and Cobra did not exist, he decided he couldn't keep this information to himself.

"Alison?" he asks.

Looking up, Alison raises a brow to her uncle. "Yes?"

"When you return to...America, I need you to be aware of...something," says James, not sure how to proceed.

"About what?" Alison asks, frowning, as she realizes that this is one of the longest conversation that the two of them had had inside the home. The longest had been held when James had tricked her into returning after he found out she was Ian's daughter.

"Zartan," he says, looking down at his plate before raising his eyes to catch hers. Locking eyes, he can see the surprise in her eyes.

"The rule?" she asks, unsure how to proceed. Though the mercenary wasn't technically Cobra, it was too close to mentioning that part of their world which wasn't allowed in the home.

Nodding his head, James raises his right hand and rubs at his mouth and chin. For a moment, he was back at Cobra Headquarter, a few weeks ago, walking down a hallway, and heading toward the command room to speak with Cobra Commander. Coming from the opposite direction, Destro could hear Zartan and his Dreadnoks, whom had just left the command room. They had recently faced a team of GI Joe and Zartan was regaling his men about an encounter with Lady Jaye.

She had been separated from her team and he was about to get the jump on her. But, before he could move in, she was able to rejoin her team. In great detail, Zartan told his men what he would have done. How he would have hurt and used Lady Jaye. How he dreamed about it. Realizing what the red-haired mercenary meant, Destro had been furious. Zartan was discussing raping his niece! Clenching his fist, Destro had stopped in the hallway, fighting to gain control of himself. All Destro could think about was walking over to Zartan, wrapping his hands around the disgusting man's neck, and choking the life from his sick, perverted body.

But as good as it would feel to end Zartan's life, he didn't approach the mercenary. Outside of the Baroness, no one knew he was related to Lady Jaye and even Baroness didn't know the woman was Destro's niece. She assumed the Joe was Destro's distant cousin and unimportant. Destro couldn't allow anyone to know the truth. So, he walked by the mercenary and didn't say a word.

"Be careful of him," says James, still angry with what he had heard.

"I usually am," she replies, still unsure what her uncle is getting at.

Getting up from the table, James paces, his breakfast forgotten. Alison, nervous, also stands up and turns away from the table. Placing her back to the table, Alison wonders what has upset her uncle and if he was about to turn on her, since they had spent more years as enemies than family. Quickly, she scans the room once more, looking for weapons and exits. Not knowing that what James is thinking about is the opposite of hurting her. In fact, he's thinking about betraying Cobra to defend one of its enemies.

"I know about the rule and that what I am trying to say is...breaking our rule, but you need to understand," says James, coming to a decision and stopping in front of his niece. "Zartan wants to hurt you."

"Zartan would hurt his own mother, if he was paid enough," she replies.

"No, Alison," says James, frustrated that he isn't getting his point across. "Zartan wants to...use you."

"Wait! You mean, he wants to..." says Alison, worrying that she's jumping to a worse conclusion than James meant.

"Yes," says her uncle. "I want...I need you to understand how dangerous he is to you. I...overheard him talking to...the Dreadnoks about you."

Wondering at James' reason for telling her this information, Alison accepts that he's either lying or telling the truth. If he's lying, what would it gain him? If he's telling the truth, isn't he betraying Cobra by telling her this information? Finding herself in an unsure position, which became very common since finding out that this man was her uncle, Alison decides knowing why is more important than trying to figure out if it's true.

"Why are you telling me?" she asks. Since James was the first to ignored the rule, she decided the rule didn't apply to her either. "Outside this place, we're enemies. Aren't you betraying Cobra by telling me this?"

"Outside? I work for Cobra and you are a Joe," replies James. He pauses for a moment and glances around the dining hall where they had been having breakfast. A manor that hadn't felt like home in a long time, not since Ian left. But, recently, it started to feel like home again, because of Alison. "But inside? We're family. And I would be failing you, as an uncle, if I did not let you know."

Nodding her head, Alison decides to let the matter drop. "Alright. Thank you for letting me know."

Nodding his head also, James turns away from Alison. Not sure what else to say, she leaves the room and goes to her bedchamber to finish packing. In less than 12 hours, she would be back at GI Joe Headquarters and would have resumed the name Lady Jaye. But Alison would not forget the warning that her uncle gave her that last morning in Scotland.

FIN

 _ **AUTHOR'S NOTE – So, my beta came to me with a story idea: Destro's reaction to Zartan's obsession with Lady Jaye. The problem? Destro was too analytical to rush in without thinking through his actions. He would know it would draw major attention to himself if he went after Zartan – even though it's obvious that they dislike each other – and attention to Destro would reveal his family relationship to Lady Jaye, which would compromise Destro's position in Cobra. I felt a warning directly to Lady Jaye was more inline with his character. If people like this story plot, I may continue it.**_


	2. Business Proposal

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: The Family will be a series of one shots. Each "chapter" is a separate one shot.**_

The Business Proposal

The week spent with her uncle was a few months ago, but Lady Jaye hadn't forgotten his warning about Zartan. When she first returned to the base, she spent her off time wondering why he told her. Did the warning come from her uncle? Or from her enemy? Did he care if Zartan attacked her? Or was he trying to distract her? The warning left more questions than answers.

But over time, she thought about it less and less. She was reminded of her uncle and his warning when she saw Zartan from her vantage point, across the street from an alleyway. In the alley, Zartan was talking with some thugs. GI Joe found out that Zartan was meeting with some local criminals, maybe to add some Dreadnoks, maybe to get drugs or weapons. It didn't matter. GI Joe planned to stop him.

Of course, in typical Zartan fashion, when he saw he was out numbered, he ran. She watched him take off toward a condemned three story office building. She knew the other Joes had the petty criminals that Zartan had been talking with, but she was more interested in capturing him.

"Flint!" she called out, pointed toward the red haired mercenary as she ran after him.

Noting Zartan, Flint followed Lady Jaye toward the abandoned building. Pushing into the building, he could see Zartan across the lobby, near the door to the stairs. "Zartan! Stop!" Flint also raised his gun and fired a few warning shots toward the criminal. Ignoring the order, Zartan pushed through the door, glancing over his shoulder once toward the two Joes who were pursing him, than ran up the stairs.

Rushing across the lobby, Lady Jaye and Flint entered the stairwell and rushed up the stairs. Since they didn't hear the sound of running feet, they stopped at the door to the second floor. Lady Jaye stood to the right of the door, while Flint stood on the left. Both drawing a gun, Lady Jaye nodded. Flint pushed open the door and went low as he scanned the hall, while Lady Jaye went high. It didn't take them long to realize that Zartan wasn't there.

"If he's on this floor, he's hiding," stated Lady Jaye.

"He's either on this floor or the next one up," replied Flint. "We'll search this floor first."

"It would make more sense to split up," said Lady Jaye, as she looked around.

"I don't like that idea," replied Flint, as he shook his head.

"Would you rather he get away?" she demanded.

"Fine," he replied, as he turned back to the door. "I'll check out the third floor."

Flint went back into the stairwell and ran up to the third floor. Lady Jaye didn't waste a moment before she started looking around. Glancing into a room just across from the stairs, and noting it was an old bathroom, she examined the room quickly. Finding it empty, she moved back into the hall.

Lady Jaye kept her weapon ready, as she walked down the long hallway. When she got to a closed door, she would step back and kick the door in. With a quick scan, since the rooms were mostly empty, she would move on. If the room's door was already broken, or in some cases, missing, she would look inside the room.

More than half way down the hall, Lady Jaye found another closed door. Stepping in front of it, she kicked in the door. Just as the door hit the floor, Lady Jaye was struck from behind, pain radiating from the back of her head. A moment later, she hit the ground, unconscious.

…...

Hours later at Cobra Headquarters, a bruised and tired Zartan was reporting his failure to Cobra Commander. The newest Cobra Headquarters, an old, rundown manor, was in the middle of nowhere. The trees and grass had grown up around the building and the driveway to get to the building was over a mile long. Cobra Commander, dressed in his normal blue uniform and his clothe mask, was sitting on a dais in what had been the ballroom of the manor. Standing near the dais, but off to the side, was Destro.

"Lady Jaye was unconscious," said Zartan, smiling. The red haired mercenary had gotten to the point of where he had knocked out the female Joe. He seemed to pause and almost forget he was reporting to Cobra Commander, until the leader of Cobra spoke.

"Oh?"

"I dragged her into a nearby room. I figured I might be able to have some.. fun," replied the mercenary, but then snarled. "But Flint showed up. I had to fight to get past that damn Joe."

While the head of Cobra was listening to Zartan's failure, he also noticed Destro's reaction to hearing Zartan report. It did not escape the head of Cobra's attention that Destro clenched his fists when Zartan reported his attack on the female Joe.

"Is there a problem, Destro?" asked Cobra Commander, calmly.

"No problem," replied Destro, his voice tight.

"Getting soft?" sneered Zartan. The red haired mercenary could guess what was bothering the silver masked man. Destro didn't have a problem with attacking Joes, even surprise attacking, but the Scotsman drew the line at sexual assault. A line that Zartan cross on a regular basis.

"Hardly," retorted Destro. "I would think you should be more concerned about your failure than having 'some fun' with a Joe."

"And that's where you and I differ," replied Zartan, with a smirk.

"Enough!" said Cobra Commander. While he enjoyed some animosity between his men, he didn't need them fighting each other. That aggression would better suit Cobra being focused on GI Joe. "The...gentlemen you went to meet?"

"The Joes arrested them," replied Zartan, with a shrug.

"Very well," replied Cobra Commander, getting up from his seat. "I am disappointed that it didn't work out, but I have something else for you, Zartan."

Stepping down off the dais, Zartan and Cobra Commander moved out of the command room. Left alone, Destro seethed with anger. Zartan attacking his niece, Lady Jaye, was unacceptable. Destro realized the warning wasn't enough. He needed to do more to protect her, but what could he do that wouldn't compromise his position with Cobra?

Lost in his thoughts, Destro walked out of the command room and nearly into Xamot and Tomax. The Crimson Twins had been on their way into the command room to speak with Cobra Commander.

"Lost in..." said Tomax.

"...thought, Destro?" asked Xamot.

Staring at the Crimson Twins, a thought occurred to Destro. The twins found Lady Jaye attractive. Destro might even go so far as to say that Xamot and Tomax liked her. While he thought the twins to be foolish idiots who squandered their abilities, their interest in his niece was something he could put to use.

"I have a...business proposition," said Destro.

"Really?" asked Xamot.

"It has not escaped my notice that you...dislike Zartan," said Destro.

"Perhaps," replied Tomax, while his twin nodded.

"And it would please you to see him fail?" asked Destro.

"The man is a bumbling idiot," said Tomax.

"I don't understand what Cobra Commander sees in him," said Xamot.

 _I've had that very same thought about you two,_ thought Destro. "Zartan is interested in...assaulting a female Joe," said Destro. "And I am aware you both are also...interested in her."

"Lady.." said Xamot.

"...Jaye?" asked Tomax.

Destro nodded his head.

"Why should we get involved?" asked the brothers simultaneously.

"Two birds, one stone," replied Destro. "You can stop that vile man while keeping the female Joe, that you both find interesting,...safe."

The twins nodded in agreement.

"While we would enjoy seeing him fail..." said Tomax.

"...why would you care..." said Xamot.

"...if Zartan raped Lady Jaye?" asked the brothers simultaneously.

"Torture. Murder," answered Destro. He waved his left hand. "I have no issue with these things, but sexual violence toward a female...any female...is despicable."

"Agreed," answered Tomax.

"And if Zartan is foiled, all the better," continued Destro.

"Of course," replies Xamot, while he glanced at his brother.

"Do you accept?" asked Destro.

"Yes," replied the twins simultaneously.

"Excellent," said Destro.

With a nod of his head, the silver masked man exited the command room and the Crimson Twins were left to their plans on how to stop Zartan from getting what he wanted. And just as Destro was aware that Xamot and Tomax liked Lady Jaye, the twins knew that there was more to this conversation than Destro was willing to admit.

FIN


	3. Twins to the Rescue?

Twins to the Rescue?

Xamot and Tomax stood next to Cobra Commander. They were listening carefully to the report Zartan was providing to Cobra Commander. Apparently, Zartan and the Dreadnoks had captured a small team of Joes.

Of course, Zartan wasn't present. He was speaking to Cobra Commander over the communication system. The screen was large and the Crimson Twins could see the background. Zartan was speaking to them from his swamp base in Louisiana. The cabin, what could be seen of it on the screen, was sparse. There was a cot tucked in the corner and blankets thrown haphazardly. Some rifles were leaning against a wall near the cot.

"How many?" demanded Cobra Commander.

"Three Joes," said Zartan. He smirked. It was obvious to anyone who looked at him on the screen that the red haired mercenary was very pleased with himself.

"Who?" demanded the leader of Cobra.

"Gung-ho, Shipwreck, and Lady Jaye," replied Zartan.

When the twins heard the name of the last Joe, they understood why Zartan was so happy. The mercenary had been wanting to capture that particular Joe for a long time. While they were also interested in Lady Jaye, there were some lines that the twins wouldn't cross that Zartan didn't have any issues with. Ironically, for how often Destro would insult the Crimson Twins, their views of woman were similar. There were just some things you didn't do.

"Perhaps we should..." said Xamot.

"...pick up the Joes for you?" finished Tomax, looking at Cobra Commander.

"I can damn well bring them in myself," growled Zartan. "When I am ready."

"No," said Cobra Commander.

The Crimson Twins stilled. Zartan also waited. None were certain who Cobra Commander had been talking to. The Commander was aware that all three men were waiting for him to finish his statement. He pretended to organize his thoughts, but what he was doing was waiting to see if any of them would grow impatient waiting for him.

Xamot and Tomax were hoping the negative had been directed toward the mercenary. The Crimson Twins had made an agreement with Desto to keep an eye out for interactions between Zartan and Lady Jaye and to interfere every chance that they had. For some reason that the twin had yet to discover, the silver masked arms dealer didn't want Zartan to attack Lady Jaye. Some might believe it was due to Destro's attitude regarding women and his hatred of Zartan. Desto would love to see Zartan fail. But Xamot and Tomax both believed it was more than hatred.

Zartan was hoping that the Commander's comment had been for the Crimson Twins. He wasn't interested in interrogating her. The red haired mercenary didn't care what information she had or how it could benefit Cobra. Zartan had been waiting for years to have Lady Jaye as his prisoner and he had lots of plans of what he could do to her before he gave her over to Cobra.

"I will send the Crimson Twins to escort the Joes," said Cobra Commander, as if he had finally come to a decision. The Commander had already decided, the moment the Crimson Twins offered, that he would send them, rather than wait for Zartan to deliver the Joes.

"I can start questioning them," offered Zartan. It had taken him a long time to capture Lady Jaye and he didn't want to give her up without some time spent with her. If he had to pretend to question the Joes to have that time, he would.

"I think it would be..." said Tomax.

"...best if we..." continued Xamot.

"...did the interrogation ourselves," finished the Twins at the same time.

"Xamot and Tomax will handle the interrogations," said Cobra Commander. "Don't touch the Joes until the Twins arrive."

"Fine," said Zartan, but his tone of voice indicated it was anything, but fine.

…...

The Joes were being held in a structure. To call it a building would be generous. Yes, it had four walls, a door, and roof, but the walls didn't keep the wind out. The sides of the structure were multiple poles, driven into the ground close together. Additional poles crisscrossed the outside, to provide stabilization. The roof was more poles, with leaves thrown on top. Looking at it from outside, it looked like it would fall down in a strong wind. Of course, inside the structure were three Joes.

Evenly spaced apart, there were hooks in the ground. Running through those hooks, there were two sets of chains for each Joe. The first set of chains wrapped around the wrists of the Joe, with the second set of chains locked around their ankles. Sliding the chains through the hooks in the ground, each Joe could move a little to the left or right, but not enough to be able to touch the closet Joe to them.

"This is embarrassing," said Shipwreck.

Gung-Ho didn't reply. Ever since he woke up, he had been trying to muscle the chains, testing to see if they were weak and would break if he kept pulling on them. The only thing he was accomplishing was making himself tired.

"Flint got away," reminded Lady Jaye. She was kneeling next to her hook and using her hands to dig at the ground.

They had already discovered that the hook was half buried in a cement block, which was buried in the ground. There was no chance of pulling the hook from the ground, unless they dug up the whole block. Lady Jaye was trying to figure out how big the block was. So far, she knew the block was at least a foot across.

"The only question is, what are they going to do with us?" said Gung-Ho, as he stopped pulling on the chain.

That thought made Lady Jaye's stomach turn just a little. Zartan had been very pleased with himself that he had caught them. The Joes had already been in the camp for over an hour though and no one had entered the structure where they were being held. But that didn't mean Lady Jaye hadn't seen someone outside.

It was dark outside. Night had fallen and there wasn't any light in the structure. The Dreadnoks camp had a few campfires burning and that provided all the light. It was the light that Lady Jaye used to dig with and it was the light that Gung-Ho used to exam the chains with. It was also that same light that allowed Lady Jaye to see the shadow outside of the structure.

Every few minutes, someone would walk up to the structure. He, since Lady Jaye could see enough of the shadow to know it was male, wouldn't stand in the doorway. He would look in between the poles, usually on her side of the structure. Lady Jaye was chained to the last hook, which was closet to the fires and the doorway to the structure. Shipwreck was on the middle hook, while Gung-Ho was on the last hook and furthest from the fires.

"I think they're waiting," said Lady Jaye.

Movement caught her eye and she turned to look. This time, the shadow didn't approach from the side. She could see him through the open doorway. The doorway, rather than be in the middle of one of long walls, was directly in front of Lady Jaye.

Standing outside, feet from the open doorway, was Zartan. She had suspected it would be him. For once, the man was trying to be seen. From where he was standing, Gung-Ho and Shipwreck couldn't see him. For some reason, he wanted her to know he was watching her.

He wasn't doing anything. He was just standing there and staring at her. Thanks to her uncle's warning, Lady Jaye could guess what the mercenary was thinking. She was so focused on the man that, at first, she didn't hear the sound of a few helicopters. Zartan looked to the skies and curled his lips.

"I think Cobra is coming," said Lady Jaye, when she realized that Zartan had been waiting for that sound.

It wasn't until the helicopters were overhead that Zartan reacted. As they had approached, he had been calm, but when they circled overhead and soldiers, GI Joe soldiers, had repelled down from the hovering helicopters, that Zartan ran.

One helicopter, landed just outside of the structure. Flint jumped from the side door and rushed in.

"Everyone alright?" he demanded.

"Just get us out of here," replied Shipwreck, "And I will love you for life."

Flint motioned toward someone from behind and another Joe came in with bolt cutters. Minutes later, Lady Jaye, Shipwreck, and Gung-Ho left the structure behind.

"We need to get out of here quick," yelled Flint over the sound of the helicopters. "We followed some Cobra helicopters to find the place."

Quickly, the Joes got on the helicopter that was on the ground. As soon as everyone was on board, it took to the air.

"Where are the Cobra choppers?" demanded Lady Jaye, as she scanned the sky.

"It was damnest thing, Lady Jaye," called Wild Bill from the pilot seat. "We were following Cobra to the camp, then about a mile from the camp, they flew off in a different direction."

"It's ironic," said Flint, nodding his head. "It it hadn't been for Cobra, we might not have found Zartan's camp."

…...

The Crimson Twins stood in front of Cobra Commander.

"The Joes were..." said Xamot.

"...already being evacuated when..." said Tomax.

"...we arrived at Zartan's camp," finished the Twin together.

Cobra Commander clenched his fists.

FIN


End file.
